2 posts tagged “civil defense”
On the Periodic Chart of Elements, "K" stands for Potassium, and "I" is Iodine. That's all you need to know to figure out the name of this company, although it might be helpful to know why Potassium Iodide (KI) is such an important item to have should a nuclear incident occur. KI4U is the largest direct-to-public source for Potassium Iodide since 1999 and is a supplier to the federal government, U.S.M.C. and U.S. embassies. Visit their website. It's probably the best one-stop site for nuke info and protection around.
KI4U, Inc., 212 Oil Patch Lane, Gonzales, TX 78629; (830) 672-8734
Cresson H. Kearny, the author of Nuclear War Survival Skills, Original Edition Published September, 1979, by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Facility of the U.S. Department of Energy (Updated and Expanded 1987 Edition) states on page 111:
"There is no medicine that will effectively prevent nuclear radiations from damaging the human body cells that they strike.
However, a salt of the elements potassium and iodine, taken orally even in very small quantities 1/2 hour to 1 day before radioactive iodines are swallowed or inhaled, prevents about 99% of the damage to the thyroid gland that otherwise would result. The thyroid gland readily absorbs both non-radioactive and radioactive iodine, and normally it retains much of this element in either or both forms.
When ordinary, non-radioactive iodine is made available in the blood for absorption by the thyroid gland before any radioactive iodine is made available, the gland will absorb and retain so much that it becomes saturated with non-radioactive iodine. When saturated, the thyroid can absorb only about l% as much additional iodine, including radioactive forms that later may become available in the blood: then it is said to be blocked. (Excess iodine in the blood is rapidly eliminated by the action of the kidneys.)"
Risk confidence — By thinking the unthinkable, preparedness expert is ready for emergency
by Elaine Jarvik
(Deseret Morning News) - January 28, 2007
Sharon Packer is a cheerful woman who has thought of every dismal
possibility. For example: a massive earthquake along the Wasatch Front
in the dead of winter, a nuclear bomb that explodes when you're driving
on the freeway, an electromagnetic pulse that wipes out America's
entire electrical grid.
These are not idle musings. Packer is executive director of The
American Civil Defense Association, whose headquarters were relocated
to Utah from Florida last summer. To sit down with her for a couple of
hours is to be forced not only to acknowledge that no, you yourself
don't yet have a 72-hour kit, but also to think about the most
unthinkable catastrophes and their grim ramifications — for which even
a 72-hour kit won't be enough.
Some people are risk-averse and some people are risk-takers, but Packer is something else: risk-confident.
On an impossibly beautiful winter day, with the sun glinting off
the snow in the pastures outside her house in Wasatch County, she
explains her philosophy. "Deep inside, I do think something bad is
going to happen." Then she explains herself: "I consider myself an
optimist." Then she laughs, and adds: "I'm optimistic that something
bad is going to happen — and that I can survive it."
(read the entire article)
